Antonia Christodoulaki WFM

Hi Antonia!

You’re making steady progress, and it shows in the sharp tactical wins you’ve been collecting lately. Below you’ll find a summary of what you’re doing well, the patterns that are costing you points, and an action-oriented training plan to turn those close losses into extra rating gain.

Snapshot

• Peak blitz rating: 2359 (2025-05-27)
• Typical session profile: see
  &
  . Notice how your performance dips late in long grinds – we’ll address stamina below.

What’s Working

• Tactical alertness. Your win against Thee-Chessboy (A46) showed great calculation under time pressure: the Rd5! exchange sac followed by the passed d-pawn was textbook initiative play.
• Piece activity out of quiet openings. Even from 1.d4 e3 setups you often reach dynamic positions by timely breaks (c4/d5/f4). Opponents who expect a slow Colle often get surprised.
• Rook lifts & seventh-rank domination. Many of your decisive attacks (see moves 23-30 in the same game) rely on doubling on the 7th. Keep nurturing that instinct—it's a major scoring weapon.

Recurring Issues

1. Misplaced knights on the rim. In the loss to Símon Þórhallsson both …Na6–c5–a4 and …Na4 left you defending with three pieces off-side. Before playing a wing knight jump, ask yourself “What squares will it control in three moves?” If the answer is only the edge, reconsider.
2. Loose pawn pushes without a follow-up plan. Early …a5/…b5 (again vs Midgardsormur) or …h5 in several Dutch games create targets. Follow the rule of two reasons: push a wing pawn only when it gains both space and a concrete tactical or structural payoff.
3. Transition to technical endgames. Your 84-move win vs Thee-Chessboy was instructive, but 30 extra moves were spent converting a K+B+passed-pawn vs lone king. Polishing basic endgame technique will save you clock time and fatigue.
4. Clock management in critical middlegames. In several games you reached <20 s with unfinished development. Blitz favours players who keep moves simple; when behind on the clock prefer solid central moves over speculative pawn grabs.

Targeted Training Plan (4 weeks)

Opening Tweaks

With White: your 1.d4 e3 system is solid but predictable. Add the quick c4 break vs …d5 to keep Black from equalising so easily; study 15 model games from the Colle-Zukertort with early b3/Bb2.

With Black vs 1.e4: the O’Kelly Sicilian (…a6) has served you well (see the win vs grenelle), but you occasionally misplace the queen after …Qa5+. Review the modern move order 5…Nd5 instead of the immediate capture to keep the queen safer.

Mini-Checklists

• Before any wing pawn push: “Is my king perfectly safe? Will the pawn be defended by a minor piece next move?”
• Before exchanging pieces: “Does this trade leave one of my pieces out of play?” (Think of the …Na4 game.)
• In time trouble: Default to centralising moves and swaps that reduce calculation load. Avoid new weaknesses.

Your Highlight Reel

If you need a confidence boost, replay your best sequence this week:

Keep sharpening your strengths and patching the few leaks we identified. Small, consistent fixes will push you well beyond the 2400 mark.

Good luck, and enjoy the journey!